Quantum Newsprint hosted by Bill Sjoblom

Mountaineer Mart Picks Quantum

In January we started service to sixteen Mountaineer Mart locations in West Virginia.  The company is based in Buchanon, WV and we will be providing service primarily out of our newest division, Morgantown, WV!  This QS division will also be providing service to Parmar - another new client.

This client stopped by our booth at NACS in Chicago last year and Randy Burke closed the sale!  Congratulations, Randy!

Where Did You Buy That Beverage?

This month's CSP Magazine includes an article with some interesting data about the beverage category in convenience stores titled A Six-Pack of Insights.  It is generally accepted that beverages are the biggest draw for getting customers into a c-store but did you know that 58% of c-store shoppers report buying a non-alcoholic beverage the last time they visited?

Women tend to visit a c-store to buy bottled water, iced tea and juice.  Men purchase beer, energy drinks and sports drinks.  And the vast majority of shoppers decide what beverage type, brand, flavor and size they will buy before they enter the store.  So much for all those marketing and promo displays!

The cities that favor Coke are Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Washington DC and Miami.  More people prefer Pepsi in El Paso, Bakersfield, Baton Rouge, Memphis and Fresno.  Based on the size of the cities mentioned it is no surprise that Coke is winning the cola war!

More energy drinks are sold through c-stores than any other retail channel.  And energy drink consumers are very brand loyal.  If you don't stock their brand they generally don't buy an alternative.  Maybe that's why c-stores carry so many different brands.

And finally, 19% of shoppers think of c-stores as a place to buy wine...thats the same percentage who think of c-stores as a place to buy milk.  Surprising?

Quantum Grows in Roanoke!

We just completed the sale to a new client in Roanoke, Virginia, Quik-e Food Stores.  They have twelve locations around the Roanoke area.  Congratulations to Deb who completed this sale with the help of our great team in Roanoke!

Feeding a Family of Four on $300 a Month

I just saw an article in Kiplinger's Magazine by Carol Scudere about how to feed a family of four on $300 a month.  Interestingly, she lives in Powell, OH just a few miles from our office in Columbus. 

Her advice? 

Plan Ahead.  Always plan at least a weeks worth of meals including snacks. 

Use Sales and Coupons.  Check out local grocery sales before you plan your meals so that you can maximize your savings.

Get Everyone Involved.  It's much easier to stick to your plan if you get everyone in the household in planning, shopping, cooking and saving.

For more information, visit her website Budget-Meals.org.  She also has a book that gives lots of tips and recipes.  The book is available for a $30 donation but I will order one for the first three people who email me back.  The only requirement is that after you get the book and have a chance to read it, send me your top 5 tips that you were able to use and I will share them with others on this blog.

More Interesting QS People

A couple of weeks ago we had a group of new Audit Supervisors in town for training.  I had a chance to sit down and get to know three of them a bit better.  This has become one of the favorite parts of my job!  Our people are so interesting and unique.  I wanted you to get to know them a little better too...

Matt is our new Division Manager in Valparaiso, IN.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, he is currently going to school to get his degree.  Matt and I share a love of chicken wings, his favorite are the Parmesan Garlic wings at BW3.  If he could spend a week with any fictional character it would be Michael Scott from the Office.  His favorite place to visit is Chicago - he takes the train into the city and enjoys a Blackhawks game or just visits with friends.  Before coming to work for QS, Matt was a probation officer for the state of Indiana.  He commented that he didn't like the job much because the people he worked with were not really folks he cared to hang out with!  One thing most people don't know about Matt is that he does not like chocolate...crazy!

Corey is a new Audit Supervisor in our Jackson, MS division.  He is soft spoken and laid back.  Before coming to work for QS, Corey was a Repo Man!  I had to ask him if his job was exciting as it seems if you watch one of those Repo Man TV shows.  I was so disappointed when he said, no, it was mostly boring work.  He describes his wife as a "born again hippie".  He has two girls ages 6 and 3 (Daisy and Clover - hmm...I see the hippie influence there?) that he absolutely adores.  Corey is a bit of a history buff - if he could witness any event, past, present or future, it would be the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  He loves to visit New Orleans.  He has probably been there 40 or 50 times!

I was so happy to meet Jeff, a new Audit Supervisor from our Syracuse division.  Before coming to work for QS, Jeff was an assistant manager for Walmart, responsible for about half of the operations in a store.  He transferred several times for promotions with Walmart and ended up in Albany, NY which was just too far away from his son and girlfriend.  So he quit, moved back to Syracuse.  Jeff's passion is fishing, mostly in freshwater steams and lakes.   He would really like to be present when we find life on another planet! 

Valentines Day Traditions?

Do you have a Valentines Day tradition?  Before kids we often went out to dinner...I guess that is a fairly common tradition.  My kids are now five and almost three.  Last year we started a new tradition - chocolate fondue!  On Valentines Day we melt some chocolate and dip apples, strawberries, pineapple, angel food cake, blueberries, marshmallows, bananas and whatever else we can find that sounds good. 

Kai had a friend over last night and my sister was in town to share in the crazy tradition!

Do you have a Valentines Day tradition?

You Can't Stay Silent

In my last blog post I talked about discovering a few employees padding payroll and travel.  What I didn't mention is how we found out about this issue. 

A couple of people had the courage to do the right thing.

They picked up the phone and shared their concerns with us.  They were mad.  They were upset because they were pretty sure some people at QS were stealing from the company by padding their payroll and travel.  When we investigated, we quickly confirmed what they suspected. 

Sometimes it takes courage to do the right thing.  As a society I think we too often go by the philosophy of "live and let live".  Have you ever watched the TV show "What Would You Do?".  They set up simulations of situations where something is happening that is just not right.  They set up hidden cameras and observe how people respond.  How many people do the right thing?  I am usually surprised how few people are willing to intervene in a situation like this.

Here at QS the heart and soul of our company depends on people being willing to speak up when they suspect others may not be living by our values.  We have intentionally set up many systems and processes in QS based on trust.  It's part of our culture.  It makes working for QS more fun and rewarding.  No one likes to work in an environment where you feel like you are not trusted.

I am intentionally not disclosing the folks who alerted us to this payroll problem.  But only because they asked not to be identified.  To tell you the truth, I would like to proclaim their virtues and commitment to everyone -- both inside QS and out!  They are heroes to me.  And they should be to you too.  QS will be rewarding their courage privately and significantly.

They protected the heart and soul of our company by not staying silent. 

If you know of a values violation at QS, big or small, you have to speak up.  You have to ask the tough questions.  Our company's future depends on it.

Walking the Talk

Most companies I know have some kind of stated values. Often they are engraved in fancy plaques and posted in prominent place. All too often they are pretty much all talk. Why? Because the people that work for the company do not see their leaders and peers "Walking the Talk" meaning that what they do does not match what they say.

I am committed to making sure that does not happen here at QS.

We recently uncovered some QS employees padding their payroll and travel hours. We took immediate action which included a ten year employee losing their job. As we investigated this, I had many mixed emotions...anger, sadness and to some extent surprise. I am always disappointed when our values are violated. I take it personally and you should too because it threatens all of our jobs and the reputation of QS.

We are still in the process of evaluating our payroll systems and processes. But I am convinced that the vast majority of our folks do "walk the talk" and that is what makes our company great.

How Did You Get QIC?

I am curious...how did you learn to operate the QIC by touch?  For some of you it has been so long ago perhaps you have forgotten.  I went on QNet to see what tools we have available and I found the "QIC User Guide" which might be really useful for a new QIC user.  In addition to instructions on how to use the QIC there are a few practice sheets and exercises.

Did any of you find this guide helpful? 

Or maybe you were taught using other approaches or exercises?  Did you practice at home or just in the store during work hours?  Was it helpful to watch others take inventory?  Did you come to QS with previous experience with 10-key?  If so, how difficult was the transition to using the QIC?  Did you start with the QIC on your belt right away or did you transition to that practice later?

I would like to hear from as many of you as possible.  I just know there are some good training approaches out there!  Please share your experience.

Self Improvement

Over the past few months when people come into the office for a workshop or training, I have tried to carve out a little time to get to know people a little better.  I have shared some of those with  you and will continue to do so.

One of the things that I was happily surprised by was that so many of the folks I talked to were going to school at night or actively involved somehow in furthering their education and learning.  Stephanie (Providence), Zada (San Jose), Matt (Valparaiso) all are going to school at night. 

For the past 5 weeks I have been taking a class at my church titled "What Guys Need to Know" which was basically a class for guys interested in improving their marriage.  It gave me a small taste of what it must be like for some of you that go to school at night. 

I am interested?  If you are going to school or taking a class and working for QS I would like to hear from you.  What are you studying?  How do you juggle your work and classes?  Please share your story!